1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of the analyzing image data processing operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The technical field of the processing of image data is becoming ever more complex. In particular, the number and sophistication of processing operations performed upon image data between its capture and eventual display to an end user are increasing, e.g. spatial filtering, domain transformation/retransformation and data compression/decompression. In addition, there is continuous pressure to improve, or at least maintain, image quality despite these extra processing operations.
It is advantageous when developing a new system for processing image data to simulate the processing operations that are to be performed so that any unforseen problems and effects can be identified and eliminated, as far as possible, before a large commitment is made to developing the full working system. To this end, the image processing can be simulated using a general purpose computer. Whilst such general purpose computers are unlikely to be able to process the image data at the full rate that will eventually be required, they are well suited to simulating the processing on a small number of test images or patterns. The software running on the computer system will be arranged to mimic the sequence of signal processing operations that are to be performed in the eventual working system.
It is an object of the invention to enhance the ease of use and utility of simulation.